Until the End of Time
by ekc293
Summary: "Exactly," she whispered, "now you have me." She lifted her eyes back to his. "What else is left?" In which our Detective has a moment of doubt, and our writer tries to make sense of it all. Future one-shot, established Caskett relationship. Fluff galore.


I've been doing this thing recently when instead of doing what I'm supposed to be doing (coughcoughwritinga6-), I just write fanfiction.

Now, I've been informed that this might be _slightly_ OOC... I tried to keep it in as much as possible but I really just love the scene so much that I feel the need to share it with you all, which, if you've read my other's AN... is a pretty big deal that I actually like something I write.

Also, I just want to say that this little one-shot was inspired by a line I read in VioletHills third chapter of "More" (which is great, I think you should all read it). So, thank you VioletHills even though you probably don't know who I am! (:

So... **Disclaimer**: I don't own Castle.

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><p>He had been sitting up in his bed with his lamp on and his newest manuscript that had just gotten back from his editor, reading over the notes that had been left on the pages with bright, red, ink. He heard the noise in the bathroom and smiled slightly, thinking about whom was currently getting ready for bed in there. When he heard the door open, he happily moved his manuscript to its place on his nightstand and looked up to see one of the most beautiful things in this world.<p>

She was standing in the doorway, her hair tumbling in waves past her shoulders, her face slightly pink where she had scrubbed it free of her daily makeup and the light from the lamp making her glow. She was dressed in one of his t-shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts.

She look exhausted, yet still heart-breakingly beautiful.

It had been a really long day for the two of them. They got the call at 4:30 in the morning and had been up ever since. At 9, he had finally forced her to leave the precinct, dragging her to his home to make her dinner. They had sat on the couch relaxing for a while, talking about the case when she started falling asleep on his shoulder. He started leading her up the chair towards the guest bedroom (not wanting to overstep even though they had shared a bed before), when she spun him around and started walking towards his bedroom. He had been amused as she went through his drawers to find something to wear to bed, and he chuckled when she had walked into his bathroom and shut the door. He smiled just thinking about it now.

She was something else.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

"What are you smiling about?" she said softly, shifting in the light.

He responded quickly, "Just how amazing you are."

She lowered her head and walked over to him, her bare feet shuffling across the hardwood floor. He immediately pulled back the sheets and she climbed into the bed and nestled into his side. His hand curled against her cheek as she got comfortable against his side. Surprising him, she turned her head and kissed his palm, "I love you," she murmured.

He wasn't sure he would ever get tired of this affectionate side of the woman in his arms. He had always suspected it was there, but _he_ finally got to see it. Ever since they decided to give a relationship a try all those months ago, she had slowly broken down her walls and allowed herself to become comfortable.

"And I love you," he responded, looking directly into her eyes, "so very much."

She gave him a small smile before shaking her head slowly and breaking their gaze.

"Hey," he whispered worriedly, capturing her chin between his fingers and tilting her face up towards him, "What's wrong?"

She lowered her eyes from his and jerked her face out of his grasp. Sliding herself down, she settled herself into his arms and rested her head against his chest. A moment passed in silence when he felt her lips press against the skin of his chest.

"You won't feel like this forever," she whispered against his heart.

His brow creased.

"I won't feel like what? In love with you?" He said, clearly confused. "I've loved you for years."

"But you didn't have me then," she said, speaking softly.

"But I have you now," he said, not following her thought process at all.

"Exactly," she whispered, "now you have me." She lifted her eyes back to his. "What else is left?"

It was then that he realized where this was all coming from. It was stemming from the case they had this morning. One of the suspects was the victim's ex-boyfriend. They had heard from the victim's mother that the woman had been distraught over the end of their year long relationship, especially when she realized that her ex had started dating only two months after their relationship ended. She had started calling him non-stop, asking what she had done wrong, and demanding to know why he had broken things off. When the two of them had questioned the ex about the relationship, he simply shrugged and said crudely in a heavy New Yorker accent, "Look man (looking directly at him), I wanted her, I got her, and then I got tired of her. It wasn't worth it anymore. I got someone else now."

He hadn't thought that she had taken it to heart. Sometimes he forgot that she was only human; that the things this vile suspect had said could make her upset just as much as they had made him want to punch their suspect in the face.

It was moments like these that made his heart ache for the woman in his arms more than ever. She was undoubtedly the strongest woman he had ever met in his entire life and she had so little confidence in herself. She was unshakable at her job with her power heels and her murder board, but put her in a pair of pajamas and in his arms and thought herself insignificant.

He mentally scoffed at the thought. As if she could ever be anything other than the most extraordinary woman he had ever met.

She was strong, she was intelligent, and she was so beautiful that it made him wonder what he had ever done right to be able to say that this woman was his and his alone, because surely he was the luckiest fool in the world for her to consider him worthy of her love.

Yet here she was, lying in his bed, wearing his oversized t-shirt from a TV show he used to love that she had laughed at him for, curled up in his arms, doubting the hold that she had on his heart. Her eyes shined with insecurity while she spoke with an air of confidence.

It killed him. It killed him to know that she was speaking from experience: that there had been men in the past who have chased her only to let her down in the end. That she actually felt as though she was someone that a man could just get over. That she thought it was possible for someone to fall out of love with her.

And he knew that was life. It was inevitable that relationships end and feelings get hurt and hearts get broken, but for it to happen to her? It seemed so unfair. She was the last person on Earth who should ever feel like she wasn't good enough or wanted, because she was perfect for him and he wanted her every single day for the rest of forever.

He heard her give a small sigh and he realized that he still hadn't given her an answer to her question that she asked earlier. She made a move to roll away from him, but he captured her face in both of her hands and kissed her tenderly on the lips. She froze for a moment, but quickly responded.

"To love you until the end of time."

His sincerity permeated the air between them as he watched her eyes grow softer. He watched her try to look away again but he made sure he continued to look at her.

"No," he whispered passionately, "I love you. I have loved you, and I will always love you. Nothing is ever going to change that…" His thumbs brushed across her cheekbones, "Do you understand?"

He watched her bite her lip as a smile teased the corner of her lips. He leaned forward slightly and brushed his lips against her forehead as he felt her nod slightly.

"Good," he whispered with a smile. He let go of her momentarily to turn off the lamp on his nightstand and then settled farther down into the soft pillows of his bed, his arms wrapped securely around her, "now let's sleep."

He could feel her start to drift off, and when she spoke again her words were slurring together.

"You know," she breathed, "it might be a while until 'the end of time'…"

He chuckled slightly shifting his head to kiss her temple, "Well, luckily for me, I want as much time with you as possible."

He felt her smile in the dark and he finally closed his eyes, thinking that lying in bed with this remarkable woman was something he could get used to.

In fact, he was quite sure that he could do it until the end of time.

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><p>Now... I really need to go write my paper.<br>**Love it? Hate it? **Did you realize I didn't use their names? **Let me know what you think!**


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